Boat.



YPATENTED SEPT. 8, 1903.

G. H. R001).

BOAT.

@IPLIOATION FILED 00127, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R0 MODEL.

PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1903.

G. H. ROOD.

BOAT. APPLICATION FILED 0017,1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R0 MODEL.

mr "cams FEYERS coy. PHA'JYfLLITNQ, wAsnwcTom 0.1:.

Patented September 8, 1903,

PATENT @FFICE.

GRENVILLE H. ROOD, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

BOAT.

sIfECIFIGATiON forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,359, dated September 8, 1903.

Application filed October 7. 1902. Serial No 126,336. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GRENVILLE H. ROOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, District'of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Boat, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to boats and the propulsion thereof, and has for its object to secure maximum speed and carrying capacity With a minimum of hull-draft and enginepower.

With these and other objects in View the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanyingdrawings,and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a boat embodying the features of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of-the boat, parts being broken away to show the mounting of one of the propeller-shafts. Fig.

4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail transverse sectional View taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4 and including a pair of propeller-shafts.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

As the engine-power required to obtain a predetermined speed in a boat of given length is directly proportioned to its greatest depth of hull, it is an essential object of the present invention to obtain a very light draft so far as the actual hull is concerned, and therefore I employ a hull of the scow type, the longitudinal sides 1 of which are straight fore and aft and also straight in a perpendicular direction throughout that portion which is above the water, while the lower portion of the sides incline inwardly and downwardly, as at 2, but are straight fore and aft without any shear or run whatsoever. The bottom of the hull is straight, as best indicated at 3 in Figs. 2 and 4. The bow 4 and the stern 5 extend across the full beam or width of the hull and incline upwardly and outwardly in the manner of the ordinary scow. With this type of hull a very broad beam may be used, so as to secure the requisite bearin g and also to obtain the maximum carrying capacity with a given displacement. with a length of thirty feet the preferred beam will be about twenty feet, and although the draft of the hull would be very light the actual displacement would be substantially that of a much narrower hull having a much greater depth or' draft; but in View of the light draft the requisite engine-power for obtaining a given speed will be much less than in a hull of narrower beam and greater draft, as the'engine-power is directly proportioned to the greatest draft of the hull.

Ordinarily it has been the custom to place the propellers aft of the stern; but I have found this to be unsatisfactdry, as the propellers then work in the wash or swirl caused by the agitation of the water through which the hull has passed, and therefore do not have the same driving power as when working in a dead body of water-as, for instance, that portion of water which is undisturbed by the passage of the hull. In torpedo-boats and other comparatively small and speedy crafts the propeller-shafts have been extended to a considerable distance in rear of the stern in an attempt to place the propellers in dead or undisturbed water; but this has only been partially successful, as it is impossible to extend the propeller-shafts to such a distance as to locate the propellers in actually undisturbed water. Furthermore, by extending the propeller-shafts to such an abnormal length beyond the stern the boat does not answer quickly to her rudder,and rolling of the boat in a seaway is materially increased. Another unsuccessful attempt has been made by placing the propeller beneath the hull and substantially midway between the bow and the stern,

with a well in the bottom of the hull and above the propeller into which the latter may be raised when in shallow water. This arrangement is objectionable, for the reason that the well causes a swirl or eddy in that portion of the Water in which the propeller works. Furthermore, the blade type of propeller has been employed, and as such a propeller lifts a considerable portion of water in.

For example,

addition to what it displaces rearwardly there is an additional disturbance to the water.

To overcome the objection just noted, I employa hull havinga fiat bottom and place the propeller 6 at the stern below the bottom of the hull and forward of the point where the latter comes out of the water or, to be more correct, with its rear end at or slightly in ad- Vance of the line of intersection of the fiat bottom of the hull and the downwardly and forwardly inclined stern thereof, whereby the-propeller is located in a volume of deadwater which is undisturbed by the movement of the hull as the latter passes over that portion of the water in which the propeller operates. I also prefer to employ a propeller consisting of an imperforate spiral blade which makes at least one complete turn about the shaft 7, so as to operate in the manner of a screw conveyerthat is to say, to work through the water without displacing the same radially, but displacing all of the water rearwardly. This type of propeller is much more powerful than the blade type, as the latter pounds the water, also throws the same upward and above the surface of the water, and in addition thereto does not take hold of all of the water within its circumference, as a considerable portion of the water passes through the radial spaces between the blades. I also propose to have the propeller arranged so as to lift the bow of the hull, and thereby to obtain increased speed. To accomplish this object, the propeller-shaft 7 is set at an upward and forward inclination and pierces the bottom of the hull at a point well forward, with its extreme forward end located well up in the bow and coupled'to the engine. By this arrangement the propeller is disposed at the stern of the hull, and the forward thrustbearing 8 of the propeller-shaft is disposed at the bow, whereby the forward end thrust of the propeller-shaft acts in a forwardly and upwardlyinclined direction with a tendency to elevate the bow as well as to movethe hull forwardly. This is a very important advantage over the ordinary arrangement of propeller-shafts, wherein the tendency of the propeller is to elevate the stern and depress the bow. In view of the comparatively great beam of the hull I am enabled to employ a plurality of propellers each of which has its own individual shaft, which is coupled to an engine which is independent of the engines for the other shafts.

- To protect each propeller from obstructions and also from injury in striking on a bar, shoal, or the like, there has been provided a keel 9, which extends longitudinally forward in line with the longitudinal center of the propeller, with its greatest depth aft and its lower edge inclined upwardly and forwardly and merged into the how, so as to offer as little drag as possible. This keel is also utilized as a housing for the adjacent propeller-shaft, and, as best illustrated in Fig. 5, it will be seen that the keel is hollow and of substantially V shape in cross-section, with the propeller-shaft disposed longitudinally therein. There is a suitable bearing 10 for the rear portion of the shaft where it passes through the rear closed end of the keel, and there is a tubular shaft-casing 11, which pierces the bottom of the hull and communicates with the interior of the keel, with the shaft extending upwardly therethrough and projecting through a suitable stufiing-box 12, carried at the upper forward end of the casing which is designed to exclude water from the interior of the hull should there be any leakage into the interior of the hollow keel. It will be understood that the keel is intended to give stability to the hull and not intended solely as a protection for the propeller-and is incidentally employed as a housing for the propeller-shaft. In addition to preventing twisting of the propeller and its shaft in the event of the boat striking a shoal or the like it also acts to deflect grass and other floating obstructions downwardly and beneath the propeller, and thereby prevents grass from twisting about the rear projected end of the propeller-shaft, and thereby fouling the propeller.

At each side of the set of propellers there is a bilge-keel13, which is set in from the extreme edge of the bottom of the hull,with its rear end projected slightly below the plane of the lowermost edges of the propellers and its bottom edge inclined upwardly and forwardly and merged into the bow. The bilge keel is braced by means of a longitudinal plate 14, the lower edge of which is riveted or otherwise secured to the outer side of the keel and inclines outwardly and upwardly,with its upper edge secured to the outer edge of the bottom of the hull.

Any preferred type of engine may be employed for driving the shafts, it being preferred to have an independent engine for each shaft. In comparatively small boats gasolene-engines may be employed to good effect, as they are light and small and develop the necessary horse-power. However, I prefer to employ the type of coupling shown in Fig. 4 and consisting of a double-conesmoothfaced friction-gear 15, splined to the forward end of the shaft between the casing 11 and the thrust-bearing 8 to slide longitudinally upon the shaft and controlled by a suitable lever 16 for shifting the gear in an endwise direction to bring its opposite ends alternately into frictional engagement with the substantially conical driving-d rum 17, wherebythe propeller maybe conveniently reversed. The drum and the friction-gear are preferably covered with rawhide, so as to prevent slipping of these parts and also reduce the noise to the minimum. Rawhide gears are preferred to toothed gears, as they obviate the danger of broken teeth and also the noise ICQ incident to the engagement and disengagement of geer-teeth and, furthermore, do not require to have their engaging faces lubricated.

For steering the boat there is a rudder 18 for each propeller, the lower edge of each rudder being in substantial alinement with the flat bottom of the boat with the rudderpost 19 rising from an intermediate portion of the rudder and piercing the stern, the upper ends of the rudder-posts being projected through the hurricane-deck and connected for simultaneous operationas, for instance, by tillers and a cross-bar pivotally connected thereto, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the tillerropes being connected to the opposite ends of the cross-bar and run forward to the pilot-house in the usual manner. As hereinbefore stated, it is preferred to em ploy gasolene-engines for d riving the propellers, as in addition to the advantages hereinbefore described therefor they may be controlled directly from the pilothouse, whereby the steering and propelling of the boat may be directly controlled from the pilot-house without necessitating the interchange of signals between the pilot-house and the engine-room, as heretofore.

In connection with the propelling mechanism of the boat I propose to have a direct relation between the propellers and the weight of the boat-that is to say, the weight of the boat is first determined and then the propellers are constructed of a size to displace rearwardly a bulk of water substantially equal in weight to the weight of the water displaced by the hullwhereby a greatly-increased speed will be obtained with the comparatively light draft of the hull. In referring to the draft of the hull I mean the actual draft of the hull itself irrespective of the additional draft of the keels, as the latter ofier comparatively little resistance when the boat is in motion, and hence the resistance is dependent upon the actual draft of the hull alone and not upon the total draft of the hull and keels.

WVhat is claimed is 1. A boat having a propeller located at the stern below the lowermost point of the hull and forward of the line of intersection of the stern and the bottom of the hull, whereby the propeller is located in a dead volume of water forward of the swirl and eddy astern of the boat and a keel located in advance of the propeller and forming a guard for the same.

2. A boat having a propeller located at the stern below the lowermost point of the hull and forward of the line of intersection of the stern and the bottom of the hull, a propellershaft inclined upwardly and forwardly from the propeller to the bow of the boat and provided at its forward end with a thrust-bearing and a keel located in advance of the propeller and forming a guard for the same, said keel being hollow and receiving and housing the propeller-shaft.

3. A boat, embodying a hull having a fiat bottom with flat upwardly and outwardly in clined bow and stern portions, apropellershaft having its forward end mounted in a thrust-bearing in the bow and inclined downwardly and rearwardly through the bottom of the hull with its rear end extended to the stern of the boat, a propeller carried by the rear end of the shaft and located at the stern below the lowermost portion of the hull and in advance of the line of intersection between the stern and the bottom of the hull and a keel located in advance of the propeller and receiving and housing the shaft and forming a guard for the propeller.

4. A boat having a propeller located at the stern below the lowermost portion of the hull and forward of the line of intersection of the stern and the bottom of the hull, and a keel rigidly connected to the bottom of the boat and located in advance of and forming a guard to protect the propeller.

5. A boat having a propeller located at the stern below the lowermost portion of the hull and forward of the line of intersection of the stern and the bottom of the hull, and a keel rigidly connected to the bottom of the boat, with its rear lower edge portion projected below the lower edge of the propeller and its forward edge portion inclined upwardly and merged into the bow.

6. A boat having a propeller located below the lowermost portion of the hull, and a keel rigidly connected to the bottom of the hull and projected below the lower edge of the propeller and forming a guard to protect the same, said keel being located wholly in advance of the propeller.

7. A boat having a propeller located below the lowermost portion of the hull, and a keel rigidly connected to the hull and alined longitudinallyin front of the propeller, the rear end of the keel being projected below the lowermost edge of the propeller, with the lower edge of the keel inclined upwardly and forwardly toform a guard.

8. A boat having a propeller located below the lowermost portion of the hull, and a keel rigidly connected to the hull and alined longitudinally in front of the propeller with its opposite longitudinal sides converged downwardly to a sharp lower edge which inclines upwardly and forwardly from its rear end, the latter being projected below the lowermost edge portion of the propeller to form a guard.

9. A boat having a flat bottom, a plurality of longitudinal keels rigidly connected to bottom of the boat, with their lower edges inclined downwardly and rearwardly, and propellers located at the stern below the lowermost portion of the hull and alined in rear of the respective keels with their lower edges disposed above the lowermost portions of the keels whereby the latter are adapted to form guards for the propellers.

10. A boat having a fiat bottom, a plurality of longitudinal substantially parallel keels rigidly secured to the bottom of the boat and terminated short of the rear end of said bottom with their lower edges inclined downwardly and rearwardly, and propellers alined forming guards for the propellers.

11. A boat having a fiat bottom, a keel rigidly connected to the bottom of the boat with its rear end terminated short of the rearend of said fiat bottom, and a propeller alined in rear of the keel and disposed in the space between thelatter and therear end of the flat bottom of the boat whereby the keel is adapted to form a guard for the propeller.

12. A boat having a rigid keel, a propeller in rear of the keel, and a propeller-shaft housed within the keel, the latter forming a guard for the propeller.

13. A boat havinga hollow keel rigidly connected thereto, apropeller in rear of the keel and below the lowermost portion of the hull, said keel forming a guard for the propeller, and a propeller-shaft housed within the keel with its rear end projected through the keel and connected to the propeller and its forward end projected through the bottom of the boat.

14:. A boat having a fiat bottom, a keel rigidly connected thereto and embodying opposite longitudinal sides which incline downwardly to a sharp lower edge that is inclined downwardly and rearwardly, the rear end of the keel being terminated short of the rear end of the flat bottom of the boat and forming a guard, a propeller-shaft housed within the keel with its rear end projected beyond the keel and its other end portion inclined upwardly and forwardly and piercing the bottom of the boat, and a propeller carried by the rear end of the shaft and located in the space between the rear end ofthe keel and the rear end of the flat bottom of the boat.

15. A boat having a flat bottom, opposite tapered bilge-keels extending rearwardly to the rear end of the fiat bottom of the boat, an intermediate tapered keel connected rigidly to the bottom of the boat and terminated short of the rear ends of the bilge-keels and forming a guard, and a propeller alined in rear of the intermediate keel and disposed in the space between the rear end of the intermediate keel and the rear end of the flat bottom of the boat.

16. A boat having a fiat bottom, opposite tapered longitudinal bilge-keels having their rear ends terminated at the rear end of the flat bottom of the boat with their lower edges inclined upwardly and forwardly, a hollow intermediate rigid keel terminated short of the rear end of the flat bottomof the boat with its opposite longitudinal sides converged downwardly to a sharp lower edge which inclines upwardly and forwardly to form a guard, at propeller-shaft housed within the hollow keel with its rear end projected externally of the keel and its opposite end inclined upwardly and forwardly and extended through the bottom of the boat into the bow thereof, and a propeller carried by the rear end of the shaft and disposed in the space between therear end of the intermediate keel and the rearend of the bottom of the boat.

17. A boat having a propeller-shaft which inclines downwardly and rearwardly from the bow with its rear end disposed below the lowermost portion of the hull at the stern thereof, a propeller consisting of a spiral blade havingitsinner edge secured to the shaft throughout the length of the blade and the latter making at least one complete turn about the shaft, said propeller beinglocated at the stern of the boat and forward of the line of intersection of the bottom of the boat and the stern thereof, and a tapering keel receiving and housing the inclined shaft and forming a guard for the propeller.

18. A boat having a propeller-shaft inclined downwardly and rearwardly through the bottom thereof with its forward end disposed in the bow of the boat and its rear end located below the stern, a propeller carried by the rear end of the shaft and disposed beneath the bottom of the boat at the stern and in advance of the line of intersection between the bottom of the boat and the stern, a tapering keel receiving and housing the shaft and forming a guard for the propeller, athrust-bearing for the forward end of the shaft, a doublecone driven element slidable upon the shaft between the thrust-bearing and the bottom of the boat, an engine having a conical driving element, and means for shifting the driven element into alternate engagement with the driving element to reverse the shaft without stopping the engine.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GRENVILLE H. ROOD.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. Sreenns, S. GEORGE TATE. 

